Ten British sex offenders travelled to Poland after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, under the guise of humanitarian aid, according to British police.
In the six weeks after the outbreak of war, the individuals, all of whom had convictions for sex offences, travelled to Poland. The offenders were supposed to inform British police of their intent to travel, a spokesperson for the National Crime Agency said, and declare any convictions upon arrival.
“We find, inevitably, they haven’t,” a spokesperson told Reuters. “As far as I understand it, all 10 were asked to leave, following an interview with Polish immigration and Polish law enforcement. So they’re no longer in Poland.”
The spokesperson said nearly 5,000 unaccompanied children had been displaced from Ukraine. “Making sure that they are safe is absolutely paramount,” they said.
In March the UN said hundreds of thousands of children were among the refugees who had fled Ukraine, many of whom were unaccompanied or separated from family members. Charities along the Ukraine-Poland border have expressed concerns over exploitation and trafficking as women and children fleeing the war are being targeted by suspected pimps and sex traffickers.
In April the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, announced that Britain would send investigators to Ukraine to help gather evidence of war crimes, including sexual violence. The international criminal court and Ukrainian prosecutors have been investigating potential war crimes since Russia’s invasion on 24 February.
The Guardian reported in late May that more than 500 Ukrainian children who fled the war without their parents were stuck waiting across Europe, after applying for Britain’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Earlier that month it emerged that the government was scrambling to rehouse hundreds of Ukrainians granted visas under the scheme because the people they were supposed to stay with had been deemed unsuitable.
Refugee charities have warned since the scheme’s launch that with most of the refugees being women and children, and many matches made on social media sites such as Facebook, the scheme could be targeted by predatory men.
